PANAJI: The liquor outlet owners affected by the SC ban on highway liquor shops said on Tuesday that they were satisfied with the outcome of their meeting with Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
They were assured of getting permission to relocate premises and faster identification of outlets that can be saved.
At the meeting held on Tuesday noon, Parrikar said that he would allow the outlets affected by the 500-metre distance stipulation to relocate on the same licences issued to them by the excise department.
“Permission to shift would help several retailers,” Goa Liquor Traders Association president Datta Prasad Naik maintained.
But Goa Bar and Restaurant Owners president Michael Carrasco said, “Shifting of bars and restaurants is not feasible due to several reasons.”
However, he added that the meeting went off well as “the Chief Minister has promised to help us”.
The liquor outlet owners said that they were confident of the government’s efforts to find a permanent solution to their problem. “The efforts to save 1,000 outlets by applying the 220-metre distance rule will hopefully fructify in the next 15 days,” Naik said.
“The Chief Minister has also agreed to change the measuring of 500-metre distance from highways by determining the distance by approachable road,” he said. The meeting did not come out with a commitment to the suggestion on denotifying state highways as the Chief Minister said the “matter would have to be studied”.
It was pointed out that denotification needs proper justification and cannot be done just to sidestep the SC order.
The SC order on highway liquor ban came into effect on April 1, 2017. It has shut down 3,210 liquor outlets, including retailers, bars and restaurants that are along 500-metre distance of national and state highways. The distance has been reduced to 220 metre to those outlets who fall in a town with a population of less than 20,000.
About 1,000 liquor outlets in the state can be saved through the 220-metre ‘relaxation’, said the government, which is yet to issue a notification for the purpose.
Carrasco said that bars and restaurants are worst affected by the SC order as owners have invested over a crore of rupees on their premises.
The government had not renewed licence of outlets falling in the ambit of SC order and renewals are being kept in abeyance until the matter is resolved.
